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How To Roast a Whole Chicken in the Oven

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American, French, Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword Chicken, How To
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 2-3 Tablespoons Melted Butter or coconut oil, lard, leftover bacon grease, etc. Don't use industrial seed oils. They are so bad for your health!
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder or Fresh Minced Garlic
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Italian Herb Seasoning Blend

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Rinse (optional) and pat dry whole chicken. Place in a dutch oven.

  3. Melt butter in a small pan and add minced garlic (if using fresh garlic) and sauté for a minute.

  4. Pour melted butter and minced garlic over chicken. Using a basting brush if necessary to get melted butter over the whole chicken.

  5. Sprinkle sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian herbs over chicken.

  6. Optional: stuff chicken with two crushed garlic cloves, two small lemon slices and several sprigs of fresh thyme.

  7. Bake at 425 for 40 minutes with lid on. Remove lid and bake until the top is golden brown and the juices run clear (about another 15-20 minutes). The exact time will depend on the size of the chicken you are cooking.

  8. Tip - use a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of your chicken to check if done. Temperature should read 165 degrees F.

Recipe Notes

*note - while you don't need to use a dutch oven to bake this chicken, I find the meat is more moist when left covered for most of the baking time. Removing the top at the end gives you the crispy skin with a moist meat inside.